Lubricator.



P. W. HODGES.

LUBRIGATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1910.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

'HE MORRIS PETERS Ca, PhJTO-LITHO WASHINLTUN. D. C.

F. W. HODGES.

LUBmeAToe.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4, 1910. Llgj, Patented Feb. 16,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Z.. gi.

ll f f f jg' Z 7 7 l J" Q 5. w l l 7 C] n l l `y @ff MQW THE NGRRIS PETERS col. PHOTO-LITHO., WASHINGTON, DA C.

rnnnnnron vv. namens, or parecia, nier-nenn.

LUBRICATOR.

'Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

Application filed. .Tune e, 1910. Serial No. 565,031.

.T0 alla-710m it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. Houses, a citizen of the United States, ofV America, residing at Detroit, in the county of ll/Vayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Lubricators, of which the following is a speciiication, reference beingy had therein to the accompanying drawings. i

The invention consists of an improvement in condensation displacement lubricators of the type shown, for instance, in Patent No. 752,554-, of February 16, i90-l, and particularly in the means for effecting la ysaving in oil and in the time required for adjusting the sightfeeds', and also for *preventing cross-feeding under certain conditions when such cross-feeding ymight be possible.

At the present time in such lubricators,

`which are principally used on locomotives,

the vonly means for shutting off the oil supply between the reservoir and the oil-feed nozzles consists of the individual needle valves which are provided foreach nozzle. Therefore, when the locomotive is stopped on the road or run into the roundhouse, in order to prevent the feeding ofthe oil these needle valves are closed, and, in starting again, it is necessary not only to open them butto adjust them to. the proper point to give to each nozzle the desired feed. Beforev this desired adjustment is obtained a considerable amount of oil, as afrule in excess of the desired quantity, has been fed; and it also frequently happens that stops are made without shutting olf these valves, and more oil is lost-by theoil fed through the nozzles during the time thel stoppage takes place. Not only doesl this entail' a loss of oil,y which in total amounts, to a large amount of high-grade, expensive oil, but

`these adjustments also require the time and attention of the engineer who, .as is wellknown, particularly in starting a locomotive, hastogive his undivided attention to the many other duties he has to perform. To overcome these objections and save the oil thus wasted, and the re-setting and adjustment of the needle valves, I have provided in the conduit which leads, to a multiple of the sight-feed chambers a means for shutting off the connection between the oil reservoir and the feed-nozzl es, independent of' the needle valves, so that at a single operation the oil supply to the needle valves may be shut off, indep'en dentlyy of these needle j valves,` and may be re-opened; leaving the needle valves at the proper point of adjustment and thus always insuring (after these valves are once set for the proper oil feed) the desired feeding therefrom for each nozzle. ll deem it desirable also to provide means for preventing any cross-feeding of the oil which might remain in the oil nozzles and connecting passages after the shut-` olf valve is closed, from one nozzle to 'the other or, in case there is a leakage i-n such shutfof valve, to obviate such cross-feeding, and I therefore provide means for preventing any possible baclcflow of the oil from the feed-nozzles as by the use of checkvalves in the nozzlesy themselves. The invention further consists in the construction and arrangement in combintion of thei various parts, all as more fully hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings l' have illustrated a lubricator of 'thev construction set forth in Patent 752,554, above referred to, which fully describes the construction and mode of operation thereof, and therefore l will refer only to the .principal points of construction, pointing out in detail simply the parts which relate to the present invention.

ln the drawings: Figure l is a vertical central longitudinal section of a three-feed condensation displacement lubricator; Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section thereof through the middle sight-feed chamber; Fig. 3 is a similar section Online -az of lFig. 1; Fig.y Il is a horizontal section on line y-y of Fig. l, of so much of the lubricator as will show the arrangement of the oil conduits, to and from the. shut-off valve;l and Fig. 5 is a cross section of the plug-cock, taken on line e-a ofFig. 4.

A represents` the oil reservoir which at the top is provided with a condensation chamber B which has the usual equalizing v pipes B", B2 and' B3 extending therein 'and connecting into the top of the sight-feed chambers C C C7. n, this case I have illustrated a three-feed lubricator,y but it is obvious-as is wellslnown-thau two, three or more, of such feeds may be employed. Ordinarily they feeds from the sight-feed chambers C Cf" yin a three-feed lubricator, lead to the engine cylinders,y while the feed from the chamber C Vleads to the cylinder ofthe air-bralre pump.

Leading Ainto each ofthe sightffemd chaml sight-feed chambers.

through the same maybe regulated by the operator at will.V

i The water of condensation from the chamber B passes through a conduit H and through a check-valve I into the oil reserv voir, the passage of such water of condensation being controlled by a needle-valve l.

J is the lillereplug which, when removed, permits the oil reservoir to be filled. K are the vent-valves for draining the respective These parts thus described may be of the known or usual construction.

In Patent 752,554, referred to, the oil conduit which carries the oil to the oil-feed nozzles is a vertical pipe in the oil reser- Voir which, at its bottom, connects to a common cross-feed passage leading to the three nozzles. In this construction I prefer to make the oil feed passage from the top of the oil reservoir A a cored or drilled passage F Fig. 3 in olie of the side walls thereof. At the bottom of the passage F I provide, preferably in the casing of the lubricator body, a tapering seat in which is fitted a tapering plug a having a stem b passing through the usual nut and packing gland, as shown. I prefer to hold this plug to its seat by spring pressure, as by the spring Z. In the end of the plug is a cross-passa ge 'm which connects with a longitudinal passage a therein. Below the plug cock a are the two cored passages 0 and 1' which extend horizontally through the bottom portion of the body of the lubricator, the passage o leading, as shown in Fig. 4, to the nozzle of the central ,sight-feed chamber, while the passage 1^ leads to the other two sight-feed chambersfor what might be termed the two end sight-feed"chambers-and at its central portion is suitably shaped to pass around the central sight-feed chamber nozzle, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

Theplug-.cock is provided opposite the passage 7* with the lateral port Q and opposite the passage o with the two portss and .s, arranged at an angle to each other, as

shown in Fig. 5. I may, and do, preferably provide inthewall of the casing opposite these ports s and 0 the screw-plugs t.

`It will be obvious from the construction vshown that when the plug-valve is turned so that the ports g and s connect with the `passages 0 and z' oil from the reservoir A G controlling the feed-nozzles are properly7 adjusted the lubricator will feed. the desired quantity to each point.

lf it is desired to stop the feeding of the lubricant, with the valves positioned as shown in the drawings, the valve stem is given a half-turn, or something more than a quarter-turn, which will close the passages g, s, and s', and prevent the flow of any oil from the oil reservoir A to the feed nozzles. lf, however, it is desired to stop the feed of the oil to the two end nozzles only7 which feed to the engine cylinders, and it is desired to continue the feed of oil to the airbrake cylinder, the valve-stem b is given av quarter-turn, which will shut olf the passage g but will cause the passage s to connect the longitudinal passage u of the plug with the passage o, and thus continue the feeding ofoil to the air-brake cylinder, notwithstanding the fact that the oil is shut oil" from the engine cylinder feeds.

When it is desired to again operate all thc feeds from the closed position of all, or from the closed position of the engine cylinder feeds, the plug cock is turned back to the position shown in Fig. 3 and the feeds will again be supplied with oil. It will be obvious from this that without in any way touching the adjustment of the feed-nozzle valves G the feeding of the lubricant can be stopped and started at will, and then, after these valves G are once set by the engineer, they need not be again touched for adjustment, no matter how often the engine is side-tracked and stopped or when it is put into the roundhouse between lruns or for temporary repairs. Thus, the oil which is `ordinarily lost before the valves have reached their proper adjustment in starting the engine, and the oil which is lost by being fed out while the engine is at rest, may be entirely saved, and the duties required of the engineer in starting the locomotive materially reduced, as he need give no time to the adjustment of the valves Gr that is ordinarily required after each stop.

If it is desired to fill the oil reservoir this filling may be effected without touching the valves G or changing their adjustment. by simply closing the valves a and I. which shuts off both connections to the oil reser voir, and then removing the filler plug J to replenish the oil.

Then the valve a is closed, as would be the ease when the locomotive is stopped or when re-lling the reservoir, the oil which is in the connecting passages o and r and in the nozzles D. might cross-feed, if there was any leak in the plug valve a. particularly take place from the engine cylinder nozzles to the air brake nozzles, inas- This might 1 n pressure in these two sets of feeds, orsome other feeds for which the lubricator might be used. To act as a protection or guard to the valve a and thus prevent any possibility of such cross-feeding, and emptying the passages between the nozzles, I provide check-valves so constructed and arranged that they permit the oil to pass freely up through the nozzles but prevent the passage of the lubricant from one nozzle to another. This may be done, as shown in the drawings, by making the nozzle in two parts, d and c., screw-threaded together as shown at 7L, and forming between the two sections a valve-chamber t' in which a small check-valve 7c may be placed. This checkvalve opens upwardly to permit the oil to pass freely upwardly through the nozzle, but seats by gravity and prevents the reverse operation of the oil; thus effectively preventing cross-feeding under any conditions. This valve will also seat on the upper seat if sulicient pressure be brought on `it below to lift it.

llhat l claim as my invention ist.

l. ln a locomotive lubricator of the condensation-displacement type, the combination of an oil reservoir, a multiple of sightfeeds, a regulating valve for each sightfeed, and means, independent of the regulating valve, for shutting off the Oil supply to a. part only of the sight-feeds and maintaining the oil supply connection with the others.

2. In a locomotive lubricator of the condensation displacement type, the combination of an oil reservoir, three or more sightfeeds, a regulating valve for each sightfeed, an oil conduit from the reservoir to the sight-feeds, and means independent of the regulating valves for separately shutting off a portion or all of said sight-feeds.

3. ln a locomotive lubricator of the condensation displacement type, the combination of an oil reservoir, three or more sight feeds, a regulating valve for each sight-feed, a shut-off valve independent of the regulating valve, an oil conduit from the reservoir to said valve and a multiple of conduits from the valves to the si ght-feeds and means for controlling all or a portion of the conduits by said shut-off valve.

4. In a locomotive lubricator of the condensation displacement type, the combination of an oil reservoir, three sight-feed chambers, a feed nozzle for each chamber, a regulating valve for each nozzle, an oil conduit from the reservoir to two of the nozzles and an independent conduit to the third, and a single shut-off valve controlling both conduits.

ln testimony whereof afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK W. HODGES.

V'Vitnesses ADELAIDE l. ADAMS, W. J. BELKNAP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

